The Mysterious Great White Shark
Large, efficient hunters, great whites are still quite a mystery to us. Here are a few interesting tidbits we've learned over the years.
-
White Lightning
Great whites get their names from their white underbellies. That combined with their gray upper bodies makes them hard to see when they come at prey with speeds up to 15 mph.
-
Powerful Mouth
Their mouths have over 300 serrated teeth in several rows. Throughout their lives, great whites lose an estimated 1000 teeth that are quickly replaced. Those teeth, with a bite force of 4000 pounds, makes them efficient chompers.
-
Can Smell Miles Away
On the underside of their snout, their nostrils lead to the largest olfactory bulb of any shark. With it, they can detect one drop of blood in 25 gallons of water and can even sense blood in the water up to three miles away.
-
Biggest Marine Predators
The largest predatory fish in our oceans, adults average 13–17 ft long and weigh between 1,500–2,430 lb, with females being the largest sex. Some have been found as large as 21 ft and weigh over 7,000 lbs. That's about as much as a Ford F350.
-
Warm Blooded
Contrasted to most fish, the great white is warm-blooded and can maintain parts of its body 25 degrees warmer than the surrounding waters. This helps with hunting, and if they need to conserve energy, they can allow their bodies to drop to the ambient temperature.
-
Peek-a-Boo
Researchers are not sure why, but great whites are one of the few sharks that spy-hop like whales. They're known to be very curious and it's theorized that they might be trying to get a better look at prey or just their surroundings.
-
Like to Travel
Though we don't really know why, they're known for traveling the world. Tagged sharks have been seen traveling 12,000 miles in only 9 months and dive as deep as 4000 ft. They store fats and oils in their livers for the trips and some even travel in groups.
-
Slapping Contests
Since biting could prove devastating, competing great whites use tail slaps instead. The more slaps, the bigger, badder shark they are and the more likely they'll get the food.
-
Girls Rule
Great whites have a hierarchy wherein females dominate the males, larger sharks dominate the smaller ones, and residents rule over newbies. This and tail slaps often resolve disputes, but some great whites have been seen with bite marks from others of their kind.
-
Hunting Begins In Utero
Their eggs develop and hatch in the uterus and continue to develop until birth about a year later. Since there is no placenta for nourishment, the babies begin killing in the womb by feeding on other ova and siblings.
-
Born Killers
One to two pups are born at once, each 4 - 5 feet in length. From birth, the pups are completely self-sufficient and begin hunting small marine life immediately. They can live up to 70 years.
-
Apex Predators but Still in Danger
Aside from Orcas, we are the great white's biggest threat. Populations have dropped by 70% due to illegal poaching, by-catch, and pollution. While certainly fantastic predators, they have much more to fear from us than we do from them.
